You are welcome to use the Local History/Genealogy collection whenever the libary is open. Reference librarians are always available to help. It is not necessary to schedule an appointment.

Genealogy By Appointment is held on Tuesday mornings from 9:30 to 11:30 AM. Staff will work with you one on one to help with your genealogical research and assist you in use of the library's resources. Each session is one hour. Contact the library to schedule an appointment.

Scope

Our local history collection focuses primarily on Genesee County, located in the heart of western New York. Limited information is available for other areas.

The library owns many titles that may be helpful in your research. Some selected titles may be of special interest. A listing of the library holdings can be found by checking the library's catalog.

The local genealogy group, the Genesee Area Genealogists, holds monthly meetings open to all those interested in genealogical research.

Genealogy Databases

AncestryLibrary.com is available within the library, but not remotely due to licensing restrictions. Portions of Ancestry.com pertaining to New York are free to NY state residents, even outside the library (this access requires a free Ancestry.com New York account; you will have free access only to the records available through Ancestry.com New York, not to the entire Ancestry database).

FamilySearch -- The library has Affiliate Library designation, giving patrons greater and more convenient access to the wealth of genealogical resources available through FamilySearch. It's the world’s largest repository of genealogical records and manages the famous Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. It has amassed billions of birth, marriage, death, census, land, and court records of genealogical significance from over 130 countries.

HeritageQuest offers over 48000 family and local histories, federal census listings (1790-1940), PERSI (the Periodical Source Index), Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application Files, and Freedman's Bank Records. The database is available from home with your library card barcode, and within the library automatically.

Local Newspapers

Richmond Memorial Library holds copies of local newspapers on microfilm. Images can be printed or saved digitally to a flash drive. Please contact the library for more information.

Batavia Daily News Subject Index (PDF) - This indexing was done by Ruth McEvoy, former historian for the city of Batavia, and covers the period from 1880 through the 1990s. This is a large file of 2669 pages and is best searched using the free Adobe Acrobat Reader's Find function (Ctrl F); other PDF readers may not work properly. You can also browse the index's original 29 sections.

Local Index (PDF) - Listings from early newspapers, cemetery records, military records, and other miscellaneous records for Genesee County, NY. The index is not complete. Copies of the newspapers are available at the library. You can also browse by section: A-F | G-L | M-P | Q-S | T-Z

New York State Newspaper Project - Check to see what newspapers are owned at the New York State Library and throughout the State. Microfilmed papers in Albany are available through interlibrary loan at your local library.

Fulton History - Contains over 34,000,000 indexed New York State historical newspaper pages. Coverage includes central and western New York. Genesee County newspapers included are:

Republican Advocate, 1822-1876

Progressive Batavian, 1868-1895

Spirit of the Times, 1825-1901

Batavian, 1895-1897

Genesee County Herald, 1857-1861

Morning Call, 1881-1882

Genesee Weekly Democrat, 1857-1859

Batavia Daily News, 1878-1922

Newspaper Abstracts - A volunteer project with more than 53,000 pages of abstracts and extracts from newspapers.

Passenger & Immigration Records

Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation - The Ellis Island site gives name, age, date of entry into the United States, and last residence for those processed through Ellis Island. Ellis Island did not open until 1892.

Castle Garden - America's first official immigration center. Records cover the years 1830 through 1892.

Immigrant Ancestors Project - Sponsored by the Center for Family History and Genealogy at Brigham Young University, uses emigration registers to locate information about the birthplaces of immigrants in their native countries.

Genesee County is located in the heart of western New York. Nicknamed the "Mother of Counties," it originally encompassed an area stretching from Lake Ontario on the north to the Pennsylvania state line in the south and from the Genesee River in the east to Lake Erie on the west.

The local genealogy group, the Genesee Area Genealogists, holds monthly meetings open to all those interested in genealogical research.

Local Index (PDF) - Listings from early newspapers, cemetery records, military records, and other miscellaneous records for Genesee County, NY. The index is not complete. Copies of the newspapers are available at the library. You can also browse by section: A-F | G-L | M-P | Q-S | T-Z

Index to Arch Merrill books - a collection of books with stories of central and western New York from the earliest days to the present.

Portions of Ancestry.com pertaining to New York are free to NY state residents. The New York State Archives partnered with Ancestry to digitize some NY state records of interest to genealogists. This access requires a free Ancestry.com New York account. You will have free access only to the records available through Ancestry.com New York, not to the entire Ancestry database.

General Sources

Rootsweb - a good place to start searching for family names and other people researching the same families you are.

Family Search - the genealogy site of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons). You can check the information they have indexed including the 1880 federal census, check information others have submitted, and check to see what records have been microfilmed.

Richmond Memorial Library is an Affiliate Library with Family Search. Microfilm and microfiche can be ordered and sent to the library for your use. Images can be printed, emailed, or saved to a flash drive for future reference.

Family Search Wiki - The Family Search Wiki is a large, on-line library where users can find thousands of articles and how-to insturctions about doing family history.

Family History Archives - collection of published genealogy and family history books. Histories of families, county and local histories, how to books on genealogy, genealogy magazines and periodicals.

A One-Step Portal for On-Line Genealogy - Steve Morse provides alternate ways to search some of the most popular genealogy websites, including Ellis Island and Castle Garden. There are also links for people searches.

Live Roots - a specialized search engine that assists you with locating genealogical resources, including both those that are accessible online and others which may require assistance from another researcher.

Genealogy - an excellent genealogy site sponsored by the National Archives.

Portions of Ancestry.com pertaining to New York , are free to NY state residents. The New York State Archives partnered with Ancestry to digitize some NY state records of interest to genealogists. This access requires a free Ancestry.com New York account. You will have free access only to the records available through Ancestry.com New York, not to the entire Ancestry database.

War of 1812 Pension Records - pension records provide a window into unique information of our ancestors and you might find military service details, death information, and other possible records. This database is not yet complete.

Family Search Research Classes - free online classes. More than 23 classes available in formats including video, Power Point, and interactive. Learn new tips and techniques that will help you with your genealogical research.